Level of audio and audiovisual media usage within media time budget in Germany rises to nearly 90%

Last year, the use of audio and audiovisual media in Germany accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the total media time budget of users aged 14+. On average, people consumed audio and audiovisual media for 9 hours and 43 minutes a day in 2022, more than half an hour longer than in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 (2019: 9 hours and 6 minutes). Compared to the record year 2021, average usage in 2022 was slightly down by 17 minutes (2021: 10 hours). These were the key findings of the latest VAUNET Media Usage Analysis for 2022, compiled by the VAUNET German Association of Private Media based on secondary sources and published today.

Frank Giersberg, Managing Director of VAUNET: “The importance of audio and audiovisual media in people’s lives is growing constantly. This is a trend we’ve been observing for many years, and it’s also reflected in the current data. Almost 90 per cent of media usage is now accounted for by radio, TV, and other audiovisual media, which are used for a total of almost 10 hours a day. This underlines the high relevance of audiovisual media, the refinancing of which must be given appropriate consideration by policymakers in the current legislative processes.”

Johannes Leibiger, Head of Media Economics & Research at VAUNET: “After two exceptional years when, partly due to coronavirus, demand for audiovisual information and entertainment offerings rocketed, the usage of audiovisual media in 2022 stabilized at a high level, significantly exceeding the final pre-pandemic year 2019. In a year-on-year comparison, two different developments can be observed: while the consumption of video content is declining somewhat, audio usage continues to rise, as does the number of listeners.”

Average daily audio usage in 2022 was estimated to be 4 hours and 17 minutes, an increase of 10 minutes on the previous year (2021: 4 hours and 7 minutes). Compared to the final pre-pandemic year, the consumption of audio content rose by 21 minutes (2019: 3 hours and 56 minutes). This growth was mainly driven by more music streaming (up by 24 minutes since 2019). Once again, weekday radio accounted for the lion’s share among listeners aged 14+ last year at 3 hours and 6 minutes (2021: 3 hours and 13 minutes; 2019: 3 hours and 17 minutes).

Daily video consumption among Germans aged 14+ totalled 5 hours and 26 minutes in 2022. After growing particularly strongly in the pandemic years 2021 and 2022, even compared to the surge in previous years, video consumption declined by 27 minutes on the previous year (2021: 5 hours and 53 minutes). Nevertheless, it was still above the pre-pandemic level (2019: 5 hours and 10 minutes). Daily TV viewing declined to 3 hours and 33 minutes (2021: 3 hours and 52 minutes). The usage of online video also declined slightly, with 69 minutes a day being watched by people aged 14–69 (2021: 72 minutes). Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the consumption of free online videos and paid video-on-demand content increased by 22 minutes (2019: 47 minutes).

In 2022, 89.1% of the total population aged 3+ in Germany watched television regularly (2021: 90.8%; 2019: 91.5%), while 94.1% of adults aged 14+ listened regularly to audio and radio (2021: 93.7%; 2019: 93.8%). The daily reach figures were 64.1% for television (2021: 67.3%; 2019: 67.2%) and 75.7% for audio (2021: 75.6%; 2019: 77.1%).

Total daily media usage in Germany across all media genres was 10 hours and 52 minutes in 2022 (2021: 11 hours and 18 minutes). Compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019, daily media use thus rose by a total of 36 minutes. Moreover, the proportion of audio and audiovisual media use within the total media time budget increased to 89.4% (2019: 88.6%). VAUNET